German History in Marxist Perspective: The East German Approach

A thorough, fair-minded review of East German historiography, its organization, ideology, its achievements and deficiencies. The D.D.R. began in the 1950s to portray itself as the sole heir of a long progressive tradition in the German past; Dorpalen makes clear that the D.D.R. historians have often had a useful, stimulating effect on their freer but time-bound colleagues in the Federal Republic. A useful compendium, illustrative also of basic political trends within the D.D.R.